Healing Montana Sky Read Online Free PDF Page A

the beds metal instruments lay on a white cloth.
    The red-haired doctor sat behind a desk in the back corner, reading a thick book. When he saw them, he stood. He was in his shirtsleeves; a long Prince Albert coat hung on a hook next to the desk. He moved to take down the coat, but hesitated.
    Erik took quick steps to him and deposited the baby in his arms. “My wife died giving birth to her. She’s come early.”
    Doctor Cameron laid the babe on the bed and unwrapped the blanket. He gently ran his hands over her body and then straightened. “She’s tiny, which is to be expected with coming early. And your wife, I recall, was a small woman.”
    My dainty Daisy. Erik wanted to weep for all he’d lost, what he still might lose, but the tears wouldn’t come.
    “She’s healthy, all things considered.” Dr. Cameron picked up the baby, cradling her head with his hand, and handed her to his wife. “We’ll need to find a wet nurse right away.” His Scottish accent thickened. “The wee lassie does na have much time.”
    Dear Lord, please save her. Erik had never prayed so fervently before Daisy had gone into early labor, setting off this whole chain of events.
    Using a damp cloth, Mrs. Cameron cleaned off his daughter with deft strokes. Although the baby was awake, she didn’t even whimper. “What’s the lassie’s name?” Mrs. Cameron asked.
    “Camilla.”
    “Lovely name, for a lovely lassie. Do you have baby clothes?”
    Erik thought of the little brassbound trunk, filled with the tiny results of his wife’s loving handwork, and wanted to smack a hand to his head. “I left everything behind.”
    “We’ll find something for her.”
    “The closest woman is Mrs. Marshall,” the doctor said. “Her daughter’s almost ready to be weaned ana way.”
    Erik’s stomach relaxed.
    Mrs. Cameron shook her head, making her curls bounce. “She went to St. Louis to visit her mother.”
    Erik tensed, and his stomach tightened again.
    The doctor’s brow furrowed. “Mrs. Mueller?”
    “Weaned the lassie two weeks ago. Her milk will have dried up by now.”
    “Patty, the saloon girl?” An anxious note crept into the doctor’s voice.
    “Eloped with a cowboy.”
    As the list went on, Erik’s spirits dropped. Was there no nursing woman who could save his daughter?
    “Mrs. Smith.”
    “I heard this morning and dinna have a chance to tell you. The wee babe died three weeks ago.”
    “They didn’t call me?”
    She swayed with the baby. “They woke up, and he was dead.”
    Dr. Cameron brushed his hand across his face. “We usually have a glut of babies. How can there not be a nursing mother in this town? Elizabeth Sanders, then. It’s a two-hour ride to the ranch, though. Don’t know if the wee lassie has the time.”
    Mrs. Cameron hurried toward the door. “I’ll go have Mack hitch up the buggy and then fetch Reverend Norton. Not everyone can afford to have a doctor deliver their babies. He might know of someone we don’t. Plus—” she gave Erik a sorrowing glance “—you’ll want her christened.”
    Erik held in a groan of pain. They don’t expect my daughter to live .

    A knock sounded on the door to the minister’s office, startling Antonia.
    “Enter,” Reverend Norton called.
    Mrs. Norton stuck her head into the room. “Pardon me for interrupting. Mrs. Cameron has an urgent message.” She stepped back to allow a very pregnant woman with curly red hair piled loosely into a bun to precede her.
    The new arrival wore an apron over her blue dress, as if in her haste she hadn’t stopped to remove the covering. Mrs. Cameron’s anxious green gaze landed on Jacques. Without even waiting for a greeting, she rushed into speech. “Are you still nursing the wee one, then?” she asked Antonia.
    Puzzled by the question, Antonia nodded.
    The woman threw up her hands. “Praise to Mary, mother of Jesus, and to all the saints.” Then her eyes widened as if realizing what she’d said. Mrs. Cameron placed both